ABSTRACT
The major difference between standard antidepressant medications and herbal treatments is that all antidepressants approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration have been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Hundreds of different herbs have been used throughout human history in folk medicines, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic Medicine, and Western herbalism for the treatment of symptoms consistent with the diagnosis of MDD. Many herbs have produced antidepressant-like effects in animals, and in many of the preclinical studies, those behavioral changes are shown to occur concomitantly with neurochemical changes similar to those of ketamine and standard antidepressant treatments. The two herbs whose anti-depressant defects are best studied and have the strongest scientific support are Hypericum perforatum and Crocus sativus. Matricaria recutita, perhaps best known as an herb used for the making of calming tea, has had antidepressant effects in placebo-controlled human studies.
